What’s the Deal with Jonah Hex?
Today, I’m finally going to address a question that I’ve been asked many times: What’s up with Jonah Hex’s mouth?
The first consideration is to determine what type of scar Jonah Hex has. Is it simply a band of scar tissue crossing his mouth — as demonstrated by Britney Hex below? Or is the band of tissue all that remains of the normal edge of his mouth, and what we see on the other side is a permanently gaping wound exposing his back molars and gums (as shown by Nick Hex)?
A strip of scar tissue across the lips would limit Jonah’s ability to yawn and yodel, but otherwise would have little physical effect on him. On the other hand, missing a large chunk of his cheek would cause Jonah problems with chewing and drinking. Food would keep falling out when he tried to eat, and he’d drool constantly.
My interpretation is that Jonah has scar tissue across his mouth, like Britney. This is consistent with how he’s been drawn over the years, and the writers have never mentioned trouble eating or drinking (or any constant drooling), so I think the gaping cheek wound is unlikely. Sorry Nick Hex.
In current continuity, Jonah suffered his injuries when a vengeful Apache with a red-hot tomahawk tortured him. The dramatic scar over his lips was not caused by the injury itself; instead, it was caused by problems during healing. When two areas of very raw and denuded skin are held against each other for long periods of time, they can grow together. This is especially true for mucous membranes like the lips. Jonah suffered second or third-degree burns to the right-side of his lips, probably from a super-heated tomahawk held vertically against them. When these deep burns healed, a portion of skin around the lips had fused together. (In some depictions, particularly cover depictions like Frank Quitely’s cover to Jonah Hex #1 , the right side of the lips are pulled back. This is consistent with burn scars as well. As healing occurred,the vertical scars fused together while the other scars tightened up, retracting the lips.)
There’s no reason the scar couldn’t be removed. Simply cutting it at the top and bottom would be best. This could be done safely and humanely (well, as much as medical care was safe and humane in the Old West), or by a scissor-wielding spaghetti-cooking manga girl. The results would be the same: a small scar above and below the lips, but Jonah would regain the ability to eat a triple cheeseburger. Of course, he’ll never go through with it as the scar is an affectation. It reflects internal scarring — that is, scars on his psyche — and until those are healed it’s unlikely he’ll ever think about getting the mouth scar fixed.
March 8th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
On the other hand, if it is Nick Hex, controlling his food-eating with a dextrous tongue and keeping his head slightly tilted to avoid the whole drooling business, the scissor-wielding spaghetti-cooking manga girl therapy would be pretty much disastrous, right?
March 8th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Official Comment
If it were a Nick Hex situation, the strip of flesh does provide some assistance in keeping the jaw closed. If it were snipped by a crazy Campbellian femme, then he would drool more and have more problems eating and drinking, but the jaw wouldn’t fall off or anything. The cheeks are there to help chew and keep food in the mouth. The maseter muscle holds the jaw on. Nick would find it a lot messier with the strip of flesh removed, but not impossible to eat or keep the jaw in place.
March 8th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Oh, one more question (about the Britney Hex): is scar tissue really stronger than jaw muscle? Because one would think that at some point during Hex’s post-scar career, he’d have been in enough pain to involuntarily scream, opening his mouth with all of the force of those muscles. Or be tired enough to have to give out a mighty yawn. Would the scar have enough strength to hold out, or would it rip right off?
March 8th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Official Comment
That’s a tough call. The jaw’s strength lies in closing, not in opening, and scar tissue can be fairly tough. I think it’s about even.
March 8th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Thanks! That’s been bugging for about 15 years, ever since I first saw an unmasked Baron Zemo.
March 9th, 2007 at 7:46 am
Definitely the medical question that has been nagging me the most. Thanks for answering it. You’ve shown once again why this is one of my favorite blogs.
(While that could read as sarcasm, it really isn’t. It’s gushing praise.)
Now how can people by allergic to sunlight? (No, it’s not a comic book-related question, but I find it far-fetched enough to ask here!)
March 9th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Best Polite Dissent of all time.
March 9th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Siskoid – http://politedissent.com/archives/1464 perhaps?
March 15th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Thanks for your medical opinion on this. I have another one for you. In Jonah Hex #1 (first vol)
one of the boy fighters is supposed to have a ruptured kidney and the doc can tell just by
feeling the kids abdomen. How can the doc be sure with his diagnosis?
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